The first coloring known to have been used deliberately in Japan is the red of red-ocher rouge. This red is also the color of the sun and blood, so it seems natural that people in ancient times would have ascribed to it the magical properties of conferring long life and reviving the dead. In the Kofun period, which corresponds to the 3rd century A.D., many colors began to be used. The theory of Yin and Yang and the five elements, said to have been transmitted to Japan from China in the latter half of the 7th century, had a strong influence on color aesthetics in Japan. According to this theory, the five colors of blue, red, yellow, white and black are the primary colors, and are also imbued with symbolic meanings. Documentary evidence of the use of coloring in food is extremely scarce before the Edo period.The Shosoin text of the Nara period (8th century) contains references to soybean cakes and adzuki-bean cakes, so it is known that colored processed foodstuffs were eaten in some social strata such as the Imperial Court. In the Heian period (8-12th century), ceremonies became increasingly formal, and the rice, rice cakes, rice gruel and other foods eaten during them were colored with vegetable substances such as soy beans, adzuki beans, sesame and chestnuts. In the feudal society of medieval Japan (12-16th century), menus at samurai houses featured food coloring in foods eaten at ceremonies and formal meals. Records indicate that dishes colored with the five primary colors were served plated on turtle shells. Rice with red beans was also served in the Imperial Court during seasonal festivals on March 3rd, May 5th and September 9th. An anthology of old Chinese herbals -books describing the medicinal properties of plants- was compiled by Li Shi Zhen in Ben Cao Gang Mu. This work included mention of many plants such as madder, safflower, and gardenia, which are used not only as medicines, but for coloring as well. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that they were used to color food. Old Chinese herbals contain a good deal of information relating to the use of coloring. From the Edo period onwards, people began to enjoy the appearance of artificially colored food, as well as using it for symbolic, ceremonial purposes. Many books were written about cookery, and many of these mention adding coloring to a wide variety of foods including arum root, cakes, rice, rice gruel, dumplings and rice cakes. The pigments of madder, gardenia, turmeric, sappanwood, grapes, perilla, soy beans, adzuki beans and mugwort were used as food coloring. Many of these plants are used in processed foods today, and our study has shed light on their history as food coloring. In the latter half of the 19th century, synthetic coloring ingredients began to be used for coloring food in both Western countries and Japan, and coloring ingredient regulations began to be enforced in these countries. In 1900, the regulations for the control of harmful coloring ingredients were enacted in Japan. They listed harmful coloring not to be used for food. On January 1, 1948, the Food Sanitation Law was enacted and 22 coloring ingredients were listed as food additives. Since then, the specifications and use restrictions have been revised many times.
